Girls Camp Anyone?

‘Camp Belvidere’ makes for a great addition to any LGBT film collection.

By Michelle Faye

Published: 2014.09.04 01:34 AM

Promo Poster from website

If you happen to find thatyou have a spare forty minutesfree during your day, I highly recommend that you spend it watching the latest short production from Recluse Films.

‘Camp Belvidere’ written, produced and co-directed by Astrid Ovallesis a little gem of a film set at a Girls’ Camp in the 1950’s. The story follows Rose (Molly Way), a young and vibrant leader at Camp Belvidere who strikes up an unlikely friendship with an older woman.Gin,the camp nurse is acomposed and closeted woman who finds herself full of internal conflictwhen the youthful and beautiful Rose turns her attentions upon her.In battling her attraction to Roseand struggling with the implications of being a lesbian in an era in which homosexuality is in large part shunned,Gin finds it increasingly difficult to not onlybe true to herself but to do what she feels is right by Rose. Each actor seems to have invested a real emotional depth and conviction to their character, but it is the stunning Astrid Ovalles that deserves special mention. Ovalles turns in a remarkable performance as the restrained and sexually stifled Gin. Herability to convey the character’s conflicting emotional state throughsubtle facial gesturesand a natural ease in the delivery ofGin’s dialogue(think Jennifer Beals as the stoic Bette Porter in The L Word) is nothing short of wonderful.

As with most shorts the story is a little compacted, such thatthe characters feelslightly underdeveloped and the first sex-scene comes in rather abruptly - within the first 5 minutes - before any real character development has occurred. That saidhowever, there is still a wonderful poetry to the film and combined with Ovalles talent for acting (and umm did I mention herintensephysical beauty?) ‘Camp Belvidere’is definitely worth a watch.In addition, there is some really lovely cinematography happeningand the creators appear to have committed to an honest representation of the 1950’s, utilising props and costumes that appear true of the era. Overall, Recluse Films have created a wonderfully sensualshort film and ‘Camp Belvidere’ makes for a great addition to any LGBT film collection. I’ll certainly be adding it to mine and hope to see many more filmscome from this talented team of filmmakers.